#the Left gaslighting Jews

[thegayhimbo]

"Never believe that anti-Semites are completely unaware of the absurdity of their replies. They know that their remarks are frivolous, open to challenge. But they are amusing themselves, for it is their adversary who is obliged to use words responsibly, since he believes in words. The anti-Semites have the right to play. They even like to play with discourse for, by giving ridiculous reasons, they discredit the seriousness of their interlocutors. They delight in acting in bad faith, since they seek not to persuade by sound argument but to intimidate and disconcert. If you press them too closely, they will abruptly fall silent, loftily indicating by some phrase that the time for argument is past."

- Jean-Paul Sartre

[lem0nademouth]

something so insidious abt left wing antisemitism is that its all psychological mind games and manipulation and denial and gaslighting and making you question your own perception of reality. like its not enough to hate jews, no, you have to resolve your own cognitive dissonance about being a leftist who hates jews by victim blaming and outright lying. you cannot sit in your own discomfort and acknowledge that you have work to do, so you make it our problem. you slit our throats and force us to apologize for bleeding on you.

[unbidden-yidden-deactivated20240]

I have gotten so many messages from folks who see what's happening to Jews right now, how literally any statement from us that isn't straight up "death to Israel!" "tear it down!" "river to the sea!" etc. - no matter how tempered in other ways or critical of the Israeli government it is - anything even mildly supportive of the terrorism victims/their families in their grief and/or Israelis deserving to live is getting dog piled to an absurd degree. And yes, that primarily targets Jews (because we're the ones primarily speaking on it) but it definitely is also hitting anyone not Jewish who says this as well. Immediately, overnight, the left has made any position that respects everyone's human rights and allows Jews room to grieve our murdered and missing family and friends without telling us they deserved to die in terrible ways completely radioactive. Like literally even the most milquetoaste statement attracts numerous hysterical commentators. And because it's so toxic, people are afraid to speak up.

And I've now heard from a lot of gentiles that they had no idea how deep the rot of leftist antisemitism went, how they've been seeing this unfold with horror, and are afraid to speak up.

Here's what I'll say: those messages give me a lot of strength, because they help me remember that I'm not insane, that this is horrendous, and we are seeing in real time exactly who would have helped the Gestapo find us if they were sufficiently convinced that this is "decolonization." That yes, the backlash really *is* that bad. I hear that affirmation and I appreciate it, and I understand your fear, because it was mine too. I myself strongly considered at the beginning not saying anything about this until I could do so without being harassed. (I decided against that because I am physically incapable of shutting up when it pertains to my people, but I understand the sentiment.)

Here's the thing: this is never going to end - those people who take seriously the question "are Jews people?" are going to be the vocal minority unless and until we all speak out. Jews are 2% of the US population and 0.2% of the world's population - there are literally more self-identified Nazis in America than there are Jews. I would honestly be surprised if there weren't more horseshoe theory leftists in the world than Jews also.

That being the case, we really do need our allies to speak up with us. I think if we all spoke up at once, it might be enough to break the silence-taken-as-agreement and shame everyone but the avowed antisemites (rather than the thoughtless and opportunistic ones) back into keeping their antisemitism under wraps. Which does have the effect of bringing the mob under control. Jews have faced a ton of mob violence in the form of pogroms throughout our history and backlash to Jewish victimhood. (Tl;dr - "How dare you make me consider how I might have benefited from or been complicit in hurting Jews? This is actually the fault of the Jews." is a disturbingly common thought process.) (You may also be wondering what I mean by "opportunistic;" I can explain in another post if people are interested.)

I know it's scary. I am well aware that you might lose friends from this. I personally decided that if those "friends" valued Jewish lives so little, they were never my friends to begin with, but it's different for non-Jews. They may genuinely be your friends. I'm not demanding you do this for me or my community, but I am asking you to consider what your line is for your friends. And if you are able to talk to them, to ask them what makes this group different from all other groups in terms of deserving compassion and human rights, it may just help us to quiet the mob.

And, if nothing else, just privately reminding those of us who are speaking about it that we are grounded in reality and compassion helps combat the mass gaslighting going on.

[girlactionfigure]

how to be an ally

LISTEN TO US

Antisemitism has been on the rise for the past few years, but since October 7, antisemitism is at the highest levels it has been since the 1930s. Yes, it’s that bad. If you haven’t heard about it, or if you don’t see it, ask yourself why, instead of casting doubt on us. 

Believe us. 

The Jewish community is hurting. Since October 7, especially, we have been gaslit on a global, unprecedented scale. After Hamas live-streamed a massacre, we are being told, globally, that it didn’t happen. Or that it wasn’t as bad as we think. Or that we deserved it. Or that we did it to ourselves.

When college students demand a global “intifada,” a term used to denote two violent Palestinian uprisings that predominantly targeted Israeli civilians, we are told “intifada” just means “to shake off.” When Hamas terrorists are caught on camera, various times, calling Israeli female hostages “sabaya,” a term Islamists use to describe sex slaves, we are told we misheard it. When an international team of forensic pathologists confirmed that Israeli children were decapitated, we are told we lied about it. We are told we lied about the rapes on October 7, despite the preponderance of eyewitness testimony, forensic evidence (e.g. broken pelvises, mutilated genitals, bloody underwear, semen on a girl’s back), and perpetrator admissions. No matter the evidence, the world keeps moving the goalposts. 

Our words are scrutinized under a microscope, and are received with doubt or outright denial. The gaslighting is such that we feel like we are living in a parallel universe.

So when we tell you how bad it is…just listen to us. Even if you don’t understand. Even if you don’t see it. Believe that we know our own experience better than you do. 

STOP POINTING FINGERS. START WITH YOU

We are so, so tired of fake allies who are quick to point to the antisemitism of others but won’t even begin to deconstruct their own biases. Antisemitism is very, very old, and very, very embedded into nearly every culture, so it’s likely that you have antisemitic biases, whether big or small. That goes for Jews as well!

This is not a personal accusation, and I’m not calling you a bad person. But sincere allyship begins with you. It’s very easy to point fingers. It’s a whole lot harder to take a hard look at your own actions and beliefs.

An example: several years ago, Shaun King was accused of antisemitism on Twitter (for the millionth time!). Instead of apologizing and holding himself accountable, he rebuked those accusations, saying, “I fight Nazis every day.”

In other words: instead of seeing where he could do better, or where he went wrong, Shaun King deflected by pointing to the antisemitism of Nazis. And yes, of course Nazis are antisemitic. But just because Nazis are antisemitic doesn’t mean that Shaun King can’t be antisemitic, too.

Something incredibly frustrating is that politicians on both sides of the political aisle use our existence and our experience of bigotry as a “gotcha” against their opponents. Instead of addressing the antisemitism on their side of the aisle — and it certainly exists on both sides of the aisle — they will relentlessly point to the antisemitism of their opponents, without ever addressing the antisemitism of their allies. But if they were truly serious about fighting antisemitism, politicians, whether left or right, would begin by addressing the antisemitism on their side before pointing fingers to prove a point. That’s not fighting antisemitism. That’s exploiting our pain. 

DO NOT SPEAK FOR US

People have been speaking for Jews for 2000 years. But we have our own voices, and we can speak for ourselves. The problem is that we are 0.2% of the world population (and, in the United States, 2.4% of the population). Though for centuries antisemites have depicted Jews as powerful puppeteers pulling the strings, and though we are accused of running the media, the truth is that we are vastly outnumbered and our voices are drowned out. 

According to the ADL Global Index on Antisemitism, 1.09 billion people across the world hold antisemitic attitudes. There are 15 million Jews in the world. Others’ narratives about us are far louder than our own narratives. That’s a problem.

As an ally, we don’t need you to speak for us. But we do appreciate you giving us the space — and, if you have it, the platform — to speak for ourselves.

Facts don’t lie; antisemites do. A recent Jerusalem Post study found that, since October 7, 46.2% of New York Times articles were empathetic toward Palestinians alone; whereas only 10.5% were empathetic predominantly toward Israelis. In other words, the Israeli narrative of events is getting buried. 

Similarly, the recent viral AI post, “All eyes on Rafah” had over 47 million shares. There are 15 million Jews in the world. A similar “pro-Israel” post, “Where were your eyes on October 7?” was shared only 500,000 times before being removed by instagram. 

Our community is small and our voices get drowned out. Give space to our voices, rather than create even more noise. Nobody is more qualified to speak of the Jewish experience than we are. 

SUPPORTING US PRIVATELY IS EASY. SUPPORTING US PUBLICLY IS MUCH MORE IMPORTANT 

Look, I get it. Vocally supporting the Jewish community at this time is not necessarily the popular thing to do. Because of the tremendous suffering of Palestinians, anyone who shows empathy toward Jews — yes, including Israeli Jews, who not only form half of the worldwide Jewish population, but are also hurting tremendously right now — can come with consequences. You might be ostracized. You might be put on a “Zionist” blacklist, as they are popping up in just about every industry, ranging from Hollywood to psychology. 

But while you have the option to “opt out,” we don’t. We don’t get to keep quiet, because this literally affects our lives and our safety. It’s getting increasingly frustrating to receive messages of “support” who will never publicly raise their voices in our defense. In remaining silent, you are contributing to an environment of fear and ostracism. That doesn’t help us.

Let me address a couple of things before you get confused.

(1) in the previous slide, I said that we can speak for ourselves; you don’t need to speak for us. In this one, I’m asking you to speak up. So what’s the deal?

Instead of, say, making a post about what is or isn’t antisemitism yourself, you can share one of our posts or even invite us to collaborate on your account. You can also publicly say “hey, this isn’t right,” or “Jewish people need support,” both in real life and online, or something of the sort, without making yourself out to be an expert over Jewish people. 

(2) you don’t have to be an expert on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to recognize Jews are hurting and to publicly voice support. If you don’t know what’s going on, I’d rather you not spread misinformation, but you don’t have to know the history or the facts on the ground to tell Jews that you see our hurt, and that you’re not okay with people hurting us. 

DO NOT TOKENIZE US

Antisemitism is a bigotry that has killed millions of Jews throughout history. It’s not a valid punishment for behavior or political views you dislike. All Jews should be protected from antisemitism, whether you like us as individuals or not. Period.

Before you share a Jewish person’s voice, ask yourself this: why am I sharing this? Am I sharing this because this person validates myviews? Am I sharing this to prove a point? Am I sharing this to show people, hey, this person agrees with me, so I can’t be antisemitic?

The truth is Jews can be antisemitic. Jews can perpetuate harmful behaviors and views that hurt the wider Jewish community. There were pro-Nazi Jews. There were pro-Stalin Jews. There are now pro-Hamas, pro-Islamic Republic, pro-Houthi, and pro-Hezbollah Jews. There have always been Jews who, for one reason or another, including internalized antisemitism, jeopardized the safety of their own community. 

If your objective is to “gain” something from associating yourself with any given Jewish person, that’s not allyship. It’s weaponization and tokenism. Allyship isn’t meant to be about you; it’s meant to be about the group you’re supporting.

You should support Jews because we are human beings, and our safety matters. Not because you’re trying to get something out of us. Period. 

LEARN ABOUT ANTISEMITIC TROPES AND CONSPIRACIES 

I cannot stress this enough. This is the single most useful thing you can do to support the Jewish people, in my opinion. Antisemitism can be hard to catch because it generally looks quite different than other forms of bigotry, and it’s constantly evolving. It’s hard to keep up with all the conspiracies — because, most often than not, antisemitism presents via conspiracy theories — so learning the “formula” of antisemitic tropes, stereotypes, and conspiracies is extremely helpful. Once you become familiar with this, it’ll be much easier for you to recognize this insidious, mutating hatred.

Personally, I like to use this formula: 

Please note: antisemitism doesn’t usually look like unabashed Jew-hatred. Antisemitism moves through conspiracies and euphemisms, whether “globalists,” “cosmopolitans,” “communists,” “capitalists,” and yes, “Zionists.”

LEARN HOW TO CRITICIZE ISRAEL

Like every other sovereign nation on planet earth, Israel is not above criticism.

It’s very important to familiarize yourself with antisemitic tropes, conspiracies, and stereotypes so that you can criticize Israel in a legitimate way, rather than in a manner that hurts Jews. 

(1) it’s totally okay to criticize Israeli policies, actions, politicians, and societal issues. However, make sure that these criticisms are rooted in reality, because there is so much disinformation about Israel 

(2) it’s not okay to call for Israel’s destruction, deny Jews the right to self-determine, or revise Jewish history to satisfy your narrative 

(3) it’s not okay to scapegoat Israel for issues unrelated to Israel, as well as to ascribe sinister motives to every single thing Israel does 

(4) it’s not okay to engage in Holocaust inversion; that is, accusing Israelis or Israel of being like Nazi Germany. Full stop

(5) it’s not okay to subject Israel to double standards not expected of any other democratic nation 

(6) it’s not okay to project antisemitic tropes, conspiracies, and stereotypes onto the Jewish state

When you project antisemitism onto Israel, chances are this will not improve anything in Israeli society; however, what it will do is it will hurt Jews. 

JUST BE THERE FOR US

Since October 7, the Jewish community has felt especially lonely. We feel that we’ve been abandoned by all our historic allies. We’ve been ostracized from our friend groups — or we’ve cut ties ourselves, because we don’t feel safe — and from our industries, which are becoming increasingly hostile to Jews who do not pass their political litmus tests, litmus tests with ever moving goalposts. 

We need support. Reach out to us, regularly. Lend an ear. Take us out for coffee. Let us know that you haven’t abandoned us. 

We also feel physically unsafe. As of June 1, at least twelve synagogues have been set on fire (or been attempted to set on fire), from Tunisia to Canada. Jews in the Diaspora have been murdered, kidnapped, and raped. These attacks have received little, if any, media coverage. Do what you can to physically protect our safety. 

Though most of us have absolutely no control over the policies of the Israeli government, our businesses are being targeted around the world. You can support our businesses that have been the target of antisemitic boycotts. 

[jewishbarbies]

The vandalism of Amy's statue is repugnant and they do it because she is dead and can't tell them to fuck off, she can't have opinions they might not like. Its also like the barest of bones minimum for slacktavists. Putting a little sticker on something is so pathetic and lackluster it's frankly an insult to their own cause.

it literally makes me feel how i felt when Blonde came out and it was just needless porn capitalizing off of Marilyn’s name and image. when will jewish women people claim to love get to fucking rest? they could’ve put that sticker ANYWHERE on that statue but they specifically chose to cover up her magen david. they specifically chose to replace her jewishness with a political symbol meant to support palestine, because just as we’ve been gaslighted about this whole fucking time, the left’s support for palestine isn’t about helping innocent people. it’s about hating jews.

[notaplaceofhonour]

One of the experiences that really highlighted to me how willing the left can be to turn a blind eye to and gaslight Jews about antisemitism was trying to talk about Michael Jackson’s antisemitism, such as in the song “They Don’t Care About Us”, which was released with the lyrics:

“Jew me, sue me, everybody do me / Kick me, kike me, don't you black or white me.”

I feel like that is shockingly straightforward with how antisemitic it is, both in its specific language (the K-slur & Jew-as-a-verb) and its conspiratorial bent in the context of the whole song. But when it came out and Jews were obviously appalled and spoke out about it, MJ made the standard “but have you considered that accusing me of bigotry offends me?” and “I was taken out of context!” statements that bigots make when they get called out on their bigotry.

As for MJ’s claim that he was taken out of context, here is some context: In 1993, MJ’s relationship with the press deteriorated when they began covering allegations of his child sex abuse. In the midst of this, tabloids ran a lot of scummy, sensationalized headlines—ruthlessly mocking his appearance and eccentricities and even running entirely false stories. This marked a drastic shift in MJ’s lyrics, which began to focus heavily on his victimhood (both real and perceived, often conflating both and tying them to broader social issues), with many of the songs on the next album HIStory (1995) being about this. “They Don’t Care About Us” is on this album. In 2003, there were revelations that Michael Jackson had grown close with members of Nation of Islam (a fringe and antisemitic hate group), and in 2005, Good Morning America aired a phone recording of Michael Jackson calling Jews “leeches”, claiming Jews had targeted him for his wealth, and saying “It’s a conspiracy. Jews do it on purpose”.

This is the context of Michael Jackson singing about being a stand-in for the victims of all kinds of real world oppression like racism and police brutality, and then saying he was being “Jewed” and “kiked”. It came out that he was molesting little kids, and rather than face the music, he tried to dodge responsibility by conflating those allegations with racism and the gross, sensationalist bullshit that tabloids were running on him; he wove all these things together in a narrative that he could use to wrap himself up in victimhood & conspiracy to position himself as not just a martyr, but the very archetype of martyrdom so that the world could, as he sang on the same album in his cover of John Lennon’s song, “Come together, over me.”

The lyrics were later changed to replace “Jew” & “kike” with abstract noise that drowned out the words or repetitions of “sue” & “strike”. But even so, this is still a song, not truly about inequality and injustice, but using inequality and injustice to shield a child molester from responsibility. And the fact that “Jew” can so easily be replaced with “sue”, not simply in sound but in meaning, without disrupting the narrative and tone of the song, belies the fact that Michael Jackson believed himself to be a victim of some sort of conspiracy between “(((The Media)))” and greedy Jewish lawyers.

And yet, trying to talk about this to this day, even with the benefit of hindsight, when it’s pretty well-accepted that MJ was in fact a child molester and knowing what he said about Jews after this song came out, it is next to impossible to get people to see the antisemitism in him tying together all oppression in the world as him being “Jewed” and “kiked” by (((The System)))—even when he literally says “Jew”, even when he says the K-slur, even when he refers to Jews as blood-suckers, even when he literally says Jews are conspiring against him. When people started using the song as part of the George Floyd protests, and I was like “hey, maybe that’s not a great idea” and gently tried to explain this context, I was ignored, told it didn’t matter because the song was about inequality, told Black people have every right to distrust Jews “because Jews are White” and stabbed Black people in the back by embracing Whiteness, etc. etc.

I think that is one of the times that really started to make it clear to me, “oh, yeah no, leftists can be staring straight at a K-slur in the mouth of a known sex offender and still say it’s fine”—something leftists generally would not do for any other vulnerable minority. It still astounds me.

[spacelazarwolf]

taking a risk posting this on main since the antisemites are out in full force tonight and i’m sure this’ll get screenshotted but this is my blog and i want to post abt my life in hopes that others can relate.

the past month has been extremely rough. i’m a survivor of domestic abuse, and one of the tactics that has left me with the most trauma was gaslighting. he told me that i was stupid, embarrassing, that when i tried to talk about being a woman (which is how i identified at the time) or being queer and the oppression that came along with that i was just “making excuses.” when i tried to tell him i didn’t like how he treated me, he told me i was crazy. he told me he never did or said any of those things. he told me i was “playing the victim.” i have been hearing his voice in my head a lot this month.

so i am thinking about all the jews and palestinians who are also abuse survivors who are watching people say that violence against us isn’t happening or doesn’t matter or is good. it is happening. it does matter. and it is not good. we are two populations with extremely high rates of trauma as it is, so this constant gaslighting and being old that the very real violence we are personally witnessing against our people, both in palestine and in the diaspora, has undoubtably been even more traumatizing for those of us who are also abuse victims. we deserve to be safe. we deserve to celebrate who we are and not be afraid of backlash. we deserve to live freely, and not under the boot of far right governments. may the attacks in the diaspora stop. may the bombs stop. may communities be rebuilt and may people be granted freedom in their homeland again. may people start seeing us as human beings worthy of dignity.

[kanelia]

I’m not even Jewish or Israeli, and I used to be anti Israel until August 2023, where I finally educated myself about the conflict. Now because of the protests, and rampant antisemitism in general and literally gaslighting from all sides of political spectrum I feel like I’m going crazy. I use to be a hardcore leftie, even jokingly calling myself a tankie. I believed most lefties would change their minds when learning the truth or at least study what they’re supporting. I was beyond shocked to read about Jews being kicked out of Arab countries, the Nazi Palestinian Mufti who met with Hitler, and the Palestinian leaders constant rejection of a two state solution. I can’t go back to my old leftie group chats because they’re all pro Hamas anti “Israeli” (aka Jewish). It baffles me how people I thought were smart can be like this. I didn’t know, I never studied about Israel-Palestine, just followed the left’s narrative on it. That’s bad on me. But many of these people are much older, more educated seemingly. And it isn’t too hard to find this info. I’m sorry for ranting, I’m not sure where I’m going with this. I feel selfish for mourning my loss and comfort within the left but I can’t keep supporting it. I’m not sure how to move on.

Welcome to the club.

I thought naively after Hamas attacks that the reaction from the left would have been disappointment towards the Palestinian side because I remember well when Israel withdrew from Gaza and how it was seen as a huge victory since now the Palestinian state could finally become reality. Well, instead, the Palestinian leadership concentrated on brainwashing their population to hate Jews and preparing another useless war against Israel. You could assume people advocating for the Palestinian side would have been a bit fed up and disappointed after Hamas attacks, but noooo. It was still somehow justified and obviously Israel's fault. Let's continue screaming: "Palestine is under occupation" like it isn't just a catchy way to say Israel should not exist. And let's send death, r*pe, and suicide wishes to anyone who enquires if any of "free Palestine" fanatics can even place those countries on the map.

Sometime ago, I expressed my disappointment with the left to my mother, who is also a leftie but not crazy one, and she told me she got upset when after 9/11 some of our leftie politicians said that American civilians somehow deserved what happened to them and had themselves to blame. And in the 70s, lefties on university campuses proudly carried around Mao's Little Red Book despite his political purges and starving his own people to death for ideology.

The left has always had an extremism problem just as much as the right has. You just don't notice it until you are in the middle.

[matan4il]

To the lovely American Nonnie, who told me that all antisemitism is bad, but leftist antisemitism is the worst because "they are being protected and celebrated. By media, pop culture, and academia. With no middle ground," I agree. The anti-Israel type of antisemitism is, without a doubt, the most socially accepted kind. It's the only kind that someone can spew, and get publicly applauded. The only kind where someone can celebrate the massacre of Jews, and either there are no consequences to that, or there finally are, and then that person and their supporters can pretend they're a martyr, being "persecuted" for being "critical of Israel," when in reality legit criticism of Israel is a very different thing to bias against the only Jewish state, and that person is just another Jew hater.

But I don't think it's just that.

I think it's also the fact that most antisemites are at least honest about hating Jews. The anti-Israel type of antisemitism tries to pretend it's not Jew hatred. So you'll get the hypocrisy of wishing Jews a Happy Hanukkah, a Zionist holiday, while attacking Zionism, and claiming it's incompatible with Judaism. Or you'll have people telling you how important it is to them to combat antisemitism, then they'll turn around and spit out leftist antisemitic conspiracy theories, that instead of saying Jews use the blood of non-Jewish kids to bake matzos, claim the Jewish state only sent a field hospital to Haiti after the earthquake, to harvest human organs. Or they'll proudly announce they're not antisemitic, and to "prove" it, they'll tokenize Jews, which is an antisemitic act in itself. And the worst is when they won't even listen to Jews who tell them that they're being antisemitic, or worse, they'll claim Zionism is antisemitic, which would make 90% of Jews, as well as the Bible itself, antisemitic. It's gaslighting Jews and non-Jews on what is Judaism and what is antisemitic. Other types of antisemites don't do that.

I also think this kind of antisemitism is particularly infuriating, because of the deep discrepancy between the values the left is supposed to stand for, and how they abandon those values when it comes to Jews. "Believe all women!" suddenly isn't applied when Israeli Jewish women are mass raped. "Violence is never the answer! Taking a human life is always wrong!" Then suddenly when Israeli Jews are massacred, and we get explanations on why violence is legit if people are occupied, even when it's translated into mass murder.

And lastly, there's the discrimination, because the left would never treat any other marginalized group the way it does Jews. "Don't speak over a minority group! Listen to their lived experiences!" Then a Jew tries to explain why anti-Zionism is antisemitic, and suddenly all the non-Jew leftists are bigger experts than us on Jewish history and and hatred of Jews, and we're not listened to when we talk about our persecution in the Middle East pre-modern Zionism (meaning the persecution and repeated massacres of Jews in the Middle East is being denied, in a way no one on the left would dare deny, for example, that the transatlantic slave trade happened), or how much anti-Zionism threatens non-Israeli Jews. "Educate yourself" is a common call, but no one feels the need to properly educate themselves on Jewish history, identity and native rights, or worse, they read propaganda from anti-Israel sources only, and think that's the same as educating themselves, as if when they're about to write about any other marginalized group, they would only take in the "education" of those that the group says hate it. "Ethnic cleansing is the worst!" the left says, while chanting slogans that, at the very least, call for the ethnic cleansing of Jews from the Jewish ancestral homeland, and no one gives a damn about us when we point this out. "None of us is free until all of us are free!" goes the intersectionalist call of the left, but Jews are excluded from that. No one cares about modern Zionism being our liberation movement, and we are sometimes physically removed from spaces that are supposed to be dedicated to marginalized groups, as was done to my friend at the Chicago Dyke March, when she wanted to hold a Jewish pride flag, under the claim that the Jewish pride flag makes Palestinians at the march feel unsafe... How safe did queer Jews feel in that moment, or when learning about that incident? But no one cares.

Sending lots of hugs from Jerusalem to you, in the US! xoxox

(for all of my updates and ask replies regarding Israel, click here)

[germiyahu]

I would like to politely request that if you find yourself not understanding the point of my posts, don't engage with them. Don't embarrass yourself.

Because I certainly don't want to have to point out the irony of a person reacting to my (long winded) wry post about how uninformed uninterested Americans project and misinterpret the motivations, on a societal level, of Israelis and Palestinians... in a way that completely confirms that. You don't understand Zionism, point blank. You have not done your research, you do not understand why Jews for their entire history have yearned to return to Eretz Yisrael, and so you lie about that history, or you uncritically regurgitate other people's lies that you've heard about it.

You don't expect better of Muslims either, and there's a reason I only mentioned how people like you interpret this conflict to be about Jews vs Muslims, so do not pretend you care about the maybe 10% of Palestinians who are Christians. I note that the antizionist crowd routinely erases Bedouins, Druze, Samaritans, Circassians, Christian and Muslim Arabs who choose an Israeli identity over a Palestinian one. Not a single antizionist can mention the actual diversity of Israeli society without acting like their teeth are being pulled. So spare me.

My post was a (long winded and wry) assessment of what I have seen and what I think the general slacktivist Left conceive of Israel and Palestine. That it's a conflict between enlightened secular Christian-Lite white people who should know better, who should be over things like wanting a return to Zion... and what you see as noble savage barbaric Muslims who at least live a good honest non capitalist life, and we as the West owe them whatever they want because the War on Terror was horrific, yes.

But in the process you 1) erase the Jewish heritage and connection to their indigenous homeland, and replaces every single motivation for Zionism as racist imperialist bloodthirsty greed. Have fun gaslighting all of us as to how that's not blood libel. And you 2) excuse suicide bombing, targeting civilians, stabbing and driving over random people, mass shootings, war rape, hostage taking, torture, making fun little games out of torture... you'll excuse everything Hamas and their allied groups do in the name of "resistance," not just because you dehumanize Jews, but because I believe you really don't think Muslims are capable of being better than that. And because yeah, they're attacking Jews, who you view as privileged and annoying and the root of all problems in the world, so that's another reason not to expect better of them.

It ignores that there are tens of millions of Muslims who care about democracy, human rights, coexistence, peace... a lot of them are Palestinians. But you don't listen to them, you don't let them take the lead in their own liberation movement. You cheer on fascists because that's what a Muslim is in your head. Hezbollah, Al-Qaeda, ISIS, Hamas, now the Houthis: masked insurgents who have no regard for the sanctity of human life, no regard for their own people, sadistic manchildren who are only interested in enriching themselves and causing pain in the world, thinly scaffolded with the most cruel interpretations of a religion that a billion people follow. The only difference between you and your conservative racist parents is that you think the terrorists are the good guys now.

But thanks for stopping by :)

[hero-israel]

Asking pro-Pals what happens to the Jews of Israel in their perfect fanfiction from the river to the sea scenario is so emblematic of that "Killing Jews can't be moral" ask you got.

Because they'll bend over backwards to say that there is no issue, there is no danger, and there's no legitimate fear over a Palestine where slay for pay is still going on and Hamas is running around everywhere, with no one to stop them.

If they have to contend with that reality, they have to contend with why specifically this is such an uncomfortable scenario for most people (not most antizionists, but most regular people). Because most of the world saw Europeans living in Africa leave in large numbers post colonization. Some of them left of their own accord, and others were forced out. Certainly the Leftoids we've come to know would've cheered if they'd been around to see it. But even the average person didn't really know about it or really see it as some great tragedy.

But if the average person saw Jews being driven to the sea, many of them being killed, and a massive refugee crisis ensued, it would be... reminiscent let's just say. It would be a very different situation from Portuguese people leaving Mozambique, and they would feel it on a visceral level. And the antizionist from the river to the sea types must be aware on some level that this is the case. And that annoys them, because (in their minds) they have to walk on eggshells about it, it's bad optics (for now) to openly call for this and celebrate it. They wish that weren't the case.

So they'll never stop and ask, but why does most of the world get so uncomfortable thinking about Jews being driven out of a country en masse, why does most of the world get so uncomfortable thinking about Jews being massacred on a large scale? What could the historical context be? Hmm, let's really put our heads together and think.

Like this in of itself is not a proof that Jews are not colonizers, and they'll cite "propaganda" or even "Zionist control" for why regular people feel this way. But something has to be said that the notion of "decolonizing" Palestine and the outcome being Jews have the same fate as, say, the Boers, makes most people uncomfortable! That context is there beneath the surface. Most people are aware that cleansing the land of Jews is not justice. It wouldn't feel like justice.

Most people can tell that Jews are intrinsically not the same as the standard European colonizer. The Hamasniks are mad as hell they can't gaslight the majority of us, Jew and non Jew alike, into going against our instincts on this one.

This was in reference to this post.

[unbidden-yidden-deactivated20240]

Ever since October 7th, the amount of misinformation and disinformation about Jews, Israel, Judaism, and even just like, basic facts about reality have been so intense that it's really dredging up a lot of my gaslighting trauma.

(No, not in the memic sense that it's been distorted into, but the kind of gaslighting that leads you to detransition and think it was your choice despite drowning in dysphoria, the kind that warps and changes and erases memories, and makes it so that you dissociate for literal months at a time to escape the pain. That kind.)

And I recognized this because I keep finding myself arguing facts and trying to reason with people who say that they're part of the compassionate left and care about working on antisemitism but yet spew the kind of antisemitism that would be totally at home on Stormfront.

It's that first arguing stage of gaslighting, where the abuser keeps saying outrageous, untrue things and you're still fighting to try and get them to empathize with you and seek mutual understanding. This:

A gaslighter does not simply need to be right. He or she also needs for you to believe that they are right. In stage 1, you know that they are being ridiculous, but you argue anyways. You argue for hours, without resolution. You argue over things that shouldn’t be up for debate — your feelings, your opinions, your experience of the world. You argue because you need to be right, you need to be understood, or you need to get their approval. In stage 1, you still believe yourself, but you also unwittingly put that belief up for debate.

(bolding mine) (source)

This is a pattern I recognize in myself in personal relationships and even within communities, but what's happening right now is a lot bigger and more diffuse. It's not one abuser or even a shitty cohort of abusive people who are monopolizing a community space. This is being encouraged in a frighteningly large number of non-Jewish progressive spaces. In the same way that stochastic terrorism adds up very quickly, this type of cultural gaslighting and stochastic emotional abuse feels like a deluge.

But if you look at history, this is not new, for Jews. This is but the latest version of a very long game of Why Won't You Just Give Up and Assimilate or Die that Jews have thus far prevailed on at great cost to ourselves.

Anyway I'm done arguing with goyim about things that absolutely should not be up for debate: Jewish history, Jewish culture, what certain religious concepts in Judaism mean, Jewish lived experiences, what is and isn't antisemitism. If you aren't willing to engage in a genuine way that seeks mutual understanding, I'm not interested. I'm done.

You are engaging in violent behavior and lying to yourself about it and calling it activism. Well I am no longer going to participate. You can lie to yourself all you want, but you are a bad person and I don't forgive you, and you can do that alone.

You are acting from a mob mentality and a mob cannot be reasoned with. You are drunk on your tiny bit of power and social capital, and years down the line you'll lie to yourself and pretend that you cared about us.

You didn't. And deep down you know it, too.

Instead of arguing with people who refuse to see facts or reason and put our experiences up for debate, I am going to work on compiling a resource for people who want to actually learn.

Everyone else can fuck off.

[dannystheone]

We’re Gonna MAKE You Remember! (Lee Kenny/Ler Stan)

Hey guys! Here’s the ADHD Kenny fic for you! I’m actually running low on requests and inspiration so if anyone has any ideas, my DM’s are open! I’d actually be also open to a little Genshin if anyone has a drabble idea just to mix things up, I’m sure you guys are sick of constant SP lol just let me know! 

also this comes from my own ADHD experiences I’m so stubborn when it comes to lists and reminders because I gaslight myself and tell myself I’ll remember something but I NEVER do 💀 I’ve been doing better and putting things in my notes app though 

also i didn’t feel like doing kenny mumbles it’s kinda hard lel 

WARNINGS: Teenagers swearing! They’re aged up in this

 The boys are sick and tired of Kenny always forgetting the things they tell him to get for them when out on grocery runs! After the millionth time, they make sure he doesn’t forget. 

                                          ```````````````````````````````````````````````` 

 “Dude get off. GET OFF! Dammit, I’m down.” Stan rolled his eyes as he shot zombies from his character’s laying position on the ground. Kyle axed through zombie’s heads as he tried to locate Stan’s glowing figure on the map to help him. 

 “Ah dude, you’re like three floors up! How the hell am I supposed to reach you?” Kyle sighed as he packed a pipe bomb and picked up more ammo from the supply station. It was Throwback Thursday and Game Night, so the boys settled on Left 4 Dead 2 to play. They were in a Versus match with four other people online on the opposite team playing as the zombies. Cartman cackled as Stan’s character, Nick, screamed out in pain as the zombies stomped on him. 

 “Bahahaha! Look at Stan dying! Get good already, dickface!” Cartman’s character, Coach, started tea-bagging Nick as he shot the zombies surrounding Nick’s body. 

 “Dude, Cartman revive me!” Stan demanded. Cartman shoved chips in his mouth as he started shooting Stan’s character. Nick took substantial damage and started cursing out Coach. 

 “Ahahaha! Suck me off, asshole!” Cartman left Nick with worst health than he found him in, and threw pipe-bombs down below near Kyle. 

 “Cartman, you fucking asshole! Help us!” Just at that moment, Kyle was caught by a smoker on the third balcony. Kyle’s character, Rochelle, started kicking her legs as she was trapped from the smoker’s tongue. 

 “AYE! If anyone’s exterminating Jew’s it’s me!” Cartman’s character sniped the smoker. The smoker died from a headshot and released Kyle’s character. 

 “Oh finally, you’re actually useful- DUDE!” Don’t fucking shoot me, douchebag!” Kyle shouted at Cartman. Cartman laughed with his mouth full of chips. 

 “Aaaaand I’m dead. Thanks guys.” Stan’s square of the screen read that his character was dead, and spectated Kyle’s screen as Rochelle. Stan sighed and threw himself back to lean on the couch. The door opened behind the boys as someone stepped inside the house. 

 “Omph, hey guymphs.” Kenny walked into the living room carrying grocery bags with him. Stan turned back to greet him as Kyle and Cartman kept playing. 

 “’Sup dude. Jump in, we got you as Ellis. Dead Center finale. D’you get the soda?” Kenny sat down on the couch as Stan started rifling through the grocery bags. 

  “M’yeah, I got the soda. Dude it cost two more bucks than last time for no reason.” Kenny removed his hood and shook out his blonde locks. Stan cracked open a cold one and took a sip out of it.

 “CARTMAN! Get me up already!” Kyle exclaimed. A jockey got Rochelle down to the ground, and a spitter spat directly onto his position. Kenny settled into the couch as both him and Stan watched the carnage. 

 “Can’t. I’m down too.” Coach got down from harassing an aggressive tank, and was sure he could mow down the zombie horde when he covered the tank in boomer bile. However, there were too many zombies at once, plus a stalking hunter that finished him off. 

 “This is what happens when you shoot your teammates, you fucking retard!” Kyle rolled his eyes as Cartman shifted on his beanbag chair and pointed a fat finger in his face. 

 “AYE! That’s half the fun, Kahl! Left 4 Dead is boring as shit if you don’t shoot your teammates!” Cartman retorted. The living room was filled with the agonized screams of the dying characters and the growls of the zombies, before eventually cutting to the loading screen after both characters died. 

 Kyle turned back to greet Kenny and look through the grocery bags. “’Sup Kenny. Did you get the Twizzlers like I asked?” Kenny snapped his fingers as his face looked enlightened. 

 “Thaaaat’s what I forgot! I swear I was gonna fucking lose it. I knew I forgot something I just didn’t know what. I got Oreos though.” Kenny offered the package to Kyle, but Kyle turned him down. 

 “Uh, no thanks man, I don’t like Oreos.” Cartman perked up at the sound of food and snatched the package from Kenny’s hands. 

 “I’ll be taking that, thank you, ‘food stamps’.” Kenny rolled his eyes at the nickname as Stan turned to Kenny. 

 “Oh Kenny sorry, did you get the M n’ M’s I asked for? I texted you about them.” Stan looked up to Kenny on the couch. Kenny held the side of his neck as he sighed. 

 “Sorry Stan. Totally slipped my mind. I was thinking about them too, but I passed by the aisle.” Stan’s gaze turned downcast as he sipped his soda again. 

 “Uh, it’s alright dude, no sweat.” Cartman scrolled through his phone as Kyle picked up his controller. 

 “Hey ‘beggar’ did you get my Ding-Dong’s and Ho-Ho’s and Twinkies?” Cartman asked Kenny. Kenny didn’t like these new nicknames he was trying out for size. 

 “Damn fatass you want the whole fucking store?” Kyle accused. 

 “Shut your ass up Jew! I know your gun is pink choosing Rochelle as your character, gaywad!” Cartman pointed at a frustrated Kyle. 

 “My gun isn’t pink!!” Kyle shouted back. 

 “Uh Cartman, I forgot. Sorry. I don’t even remember you asking for all that stuff to be honest...” Kenny spoke up. The boys inwardly groaned as less and less snacks were available for the hangout. 

 Stan looked up to Kenny and threw up his hands. “Dude what the hell is going on? You forgot nearly everything we asked for, and this isn’t the first time this has happened either.” Kyle looked back at Kenny and agreed with Stan. 

 “Yeah man, about half of the stuff we ask for or all the stuff we ask for just slips your mind. And I tell you every single time to bring a grocery list, but you-” Kenny put up his hands as he scooched forward on the couch. 

 “I don’t like bringing grocery lists ‘cause the list is too small to need one.” Kenny explained. Cartman turned his head to the side without taking his eyes off his phone. He was scrolling through a #shitpost channel in a Discord server. 

 “Clearly not dipshit, if you’re forgetting the whole fucking thing.” Cartman called out. “We can’t even hang out like this if we don’t have anything to fucking eat!” 

 “Well what do you guys want from me? I don’t know why I forget stuff, it’ll just be in my brain one minute and then it goes *poof* like it was never there.” Kenny made it look like his brain was blowing up with both his hands to accentuate his point.

 “We want you to swallow your pride and go back to the store with a list this time. So you don’t forget anything.” Stan stated, straightforward. Kenny put up his hands with his eyes closed. 

 “Alright, alright, just tell me everything you guys want and I’ll go back and get it.” Kenny said. Kyle shook his head, his curls swishing from side to side. 

 “No dude that’s not gonna work. Bring a list with you so you don’t forget any groceries this time.” Kyle tried for lightness, but Kenny’s stubbornness was starting to upset him.

 “I don’t need it guys, I got it! It’ll just be a few things, I’ll remember this time!” Kenny argued. Stan pinched his two eyelids together to suppress a headache as Cartman swiftly stood up from his beanbag chair. Well, as swiftly as he could anyway. 

 “Alright Kenny, you give us no other choice. Just remember we gave you plenty of chances. Stan, go grab a marker from the junk drawer in my kitchen. Kyle, help me out here.” Stan stood up to do what he was told, and figured Cartman would just fill out the list himself on paper and hand it to Kenny. Stan walked into the kitchen and started opening random drawers to try and locate the marker. 

 “Hey what- DUDE! What the- GET OFF! GUYS!” Stan located a black marker eventually, but heard commotion from the living room. Stan ran back to the living room to see Kyle and Cartman wrestling down a resisting Kenny. 

 “What the fuck-” Stan stuttered as Cartman looked up from his place. He had Kenny’s left arm and Kyle had his right. Kenny was in a half-squatting position while he bucked and tried to throw his friends off of him. 

 “Stan! Grab his legs!” Cartman pointed and ordered at Stan. Kenny threw his elbow back to try and jab Kyle in the gut. He turned wild as Stan advanced toward him and kicked his legs out. 

 “Get the hell off me!” Kenny demanded as Stan took hold of his legs and all three boys lowered a writhing Kenny onto the carpet. Kyle sat on the floor and hugged Kenny’s arm between his legs, while Cartman was less courteous and just sat on his elbow. Kenny growled as Stan parted his legs and sat on his thigh. 

 “Alright Stan, take this down.” Cartman reached forward and grabbed the hem of Kenny’s jacket and shirt and lifted it up to his chest, revealing his bronzed skin. Stan put two and two together as he uncapped the black marker he had. 

 “Guys seriously, get the hell off me! I’ll remember, I swear!” Kenny twisted and squirmed underneath his friends, his pants riding lower on his hips with his struggling. Stan held Kenny’s bare side to keep him steady. 

 “Alright, we want more Dr. Pepper, we need M n’ M’s, the Ding-Dong’s, the Ho-Ho’s-” Kyle listed off. Stan ducked his head and started writing down the grocery list onto Kenny’s bare tummy. Kenny huffed and started to sputter under Stan’s marker; his tough guy struggling crumbling as soon as the marker started to write. 

 “Pfft- Pfmhmhmt- St-Stahan! S-Stop it!” Stan held a tighter grip on Kenny’s side to keep the skin taught, but it slipped under his thumb as Kenny’s tummy spasmed. Stan’s eyebrows furrowed as he wrote out every word as legibly as he could. 

 “Okay, Ding-Dong’s, Ho-Ho’s, M n’ M’s, what else?” Stan was finishing up a few words on Kenny’s skin while trying to keep the marker steady on Kenny’s shuddering tummy. 

 “Oh, we need Twizzlers, Junior Mints and Coke.” Kyle recited. Kenny took a breath as Stan flattened Kenny’s stomach and wrote the continuing grocery list underneath the initial groceries. Kenny laughed out as he twisted and pulled at his elbows. Kyle hugged Kenny’s arm tighter to his chest to better restrain him, while Cartman scrolled through his phone. 

 “Pfftah- ahahaha! Stan- Stahahahan!” Kenny giggled and brought up his one free leg fruitlessly. Stan’s eye winced in concentration as he tried to keep his lettering straight across Kenny’s belly, but his flexing was making it hard. At least it was a flat surface. He couldn’t imagine trying to write on Cartman’s folds. 

 “Dude quit fucking squirming- Jesus-” Stan complained and pushed down on Kenny’s hip to finish up the last of the lettering. 

 “I cahahahan’t hehehehelp it ahahahasshole!” Kenny yelled out, and tried to fold himself in half to escape the marker. His belly made a small wrinkle as he curled himself up, and smudged the writing. 

 “Aw dude, what the fuck, Kenny? Now I have to write over what I just wrote so you can read it.” Stan, completely oblivious to what he was subjecting his friend to, forced Kenny to straighten out his belly and started writing over the words he already wrote. 

 “Aahahahaha! Fuhuhuhuck- Stahahahan stohohohop! Pl-Plehehehease!” Kenny’s free leg kicked out just to bring itself back up again in a desperate attempt to protect himself. That damn marker was too teasy. Kenny was gonna shove it so far up Stan’s...Kyle watched Stan write down the grocery list curiously as Kenny’s tummy pulsed up and down with his laughter. 

 “Alright, anything else?” Stan asked as he re-wrote the grocery items. Kenny laid limp and breathed out on the carpet as Cartman spoke up. 

 “Yeah, we’re gonna need three packs of Mega-Stuf Oreos, two liters of Sprite and three bags of Doritos. Make sure you get the Cool Ranch ones or I’m sending you back a third time.” Cartman stated. Kyle rolled his eyes as Stan began writing down the requested groceries. Kenny’s laughter filled up the living room again as Kyle looked at Cartman. 

 “Chrihihist! Stohohop ahahalready! This- Thihihis suhuhuhucks!” Kenny cried out as his tummy tried curling up in protection. Stan was writing over the skin above his belly button now. The surface was a bit raised here from the flat muscle, but the contracting from his laughter made the area shaky. 

 “You wonder why you’re tubby, fatboy.” Kyle antagonized Cartman. Kenny’s hand clenched and swatted for Kyle’s face. Kyle’s head jolted back at the small attempted attack, and bat Kenny’s hand in retaliation. 

 “I’d be big boned any day of the week than a retarded Jew, Kahl.” Cartman didn’t look up from his phone as Cartman retaliated. Kyle scoffed as Stan finished the last item on Kenny’s stomach. 

 “Okay, that’s three liters of Sprite, two bags of Cool Ranch Doritos, and three packs of Double-Stuf Oreos-” Cartman shook his head as he looked up at Stan from his phone. 

 “No no no. It was TWO liters of Sprite, three bags of Cool Ranch Doritos and three packs of MEGA-Stuf Oreos.” Cartman quoted. Stan pushed back his hat as it fell into his eyes. Kenny breathed underneath the three of them with his head back on the carpet. 

 “Oh crap. Well what should I do? It’s already on him?” Stan asked. Kyle shrugged. 

 “Just scribble it off and write it again.” Kyle suggested. Stan shrugged himself as he took the marker and scribbled out the writing on Kenny’s belly. Kenny jolted and bucked his hips to try and throw off the marker with renewed energy. 

 “GAHAHA-hahahad! Nohohoho no no stohohop!” Kenny’s eyes screwed shut as Stan blacked-out the numbers for the Sprite, Doritos, AND corrected the name on the Oreos. Stan tightened his knees around Kenny’s thigh to keep him steady, and started to write the new requested numbers over the scribbles in smaller font. 

 “Jeez Kenny, you’re jumpy today- what gives?” Kyle asked his friend. Kenny’s hair shook against Kyle’s shoe as he laughed with pink cheeks. His arm hung loose in Kyle’s grip as he stopped fighting at that point and just waited for it to be over. 

 “It fuhuhuhucking- pfft- ahahaha- hahahahaa! Stahahan I’m gohohohonna kihihihill yohohohou!” The tips of Kenny’s ears burned as Stan finished up the rest of the changes made to the grocery list. 

 “Okay...alright. That should be it. Anything else guys?” Stan asked. Kyle and Cartman exchanged glances and shrugged as Kenny slumped back on the floor. 

 “I think that should be it. We’re gonna order the pizza, so we’ll be good on dinner.” Kyle said. Stan nodded as the three boys got up off of their friend. Kenny slowly rose up off the floor and pulled his shirt down in a huff. 

 “You got all that Kenny? You good? You were acting really weird when we were writing down that grocery list.” Stan laid a supportive hand on Kenny’s shoulder. Kenny bumped his hand off and stepped away from his friend. 

 “Yeah, cause you assholes were holding me down and tickling me the whole time!” Kenny exclaimed with splayed hands. Stan, Kyle and Cartman all had confused looks on their faces. 

 “...Ooooooh!” They all said in unison with brightened expressions when it hit them. Kenny scoffed as he threw his hood back on his head. 

 “That makes sense. Well, you coulda said something earlier! Well, anyway, go ahead and grab that really quick at the market and we can hang out sooner.” Kyle clapped a hand on Kenny’s back as they sent him on his way. Kenny tightened his hoodie strings in embarrassment as he walked towards the door. 

 “Fumph youmph guymphs. Serioumphly...” Kenny grumbled and headed out the door.

                                              ``````````````````````````````````````` 

 At the grocery store, Kenny carried a basket in one hand filled with soda, candy and cookies. He was sure he was forgetting items, but he tried his hardest to remember everything possible. He wouldn’t even think about what was tattooed on his stomach, because every time he did, he could feel the teasy trace of the marker on his skin. 

 When he knew for a fact that he was forgetting things from his basket, and did NOT want to go through everything he had to go through a second time, he made his way to the mirror aisle. 

 Kenny set his basket down and begrudgingly lifted his hoodie and shirt to glance at the grocery list on his tummy. His belly above his navel was tattooed with three lines of groceries, with a mess of scribbles on the bottom line where Stan had messed up. Kenny’s face burned to a crisp at the sight, and shoved his hoodie down with a furious quickness. 

 No matter how much he would never admit it, the list actually did help Kenny remember what he needed from the store for his friends. And after that experience, Kenny definitely left the house with a grocery list more often. 

[girlactionfigure]

in broad daylight

It's 2024, not 1933. 

Crowds of thousands are chanting for the indiscriminate murder of Jews in major western cities.

why do you continue to gaslight us?

Intifada: indiscriminate suicide bombings, bombings, stabbings, and shootings targeting civilians.

There it is. In plain English. To a crowd of thousands, in front of an exhibit in New York City memorializing the victims of the October 7 massacre. "Long live October 7."

These are not ceasefire marches. They are Jew-hate rallies. Why are you still gaslighting us?

OCTOBER 7 SHOULD HAVE BEEN YOUR WAKE UP CALL

For years, as someone whose politics have always been left, myself and others have been warning of the genocidal antisemitism brewing on the left. Our concerns were minimized, and we were gaslit, both within and outside the Jewish community. Even when people conceded that yes, antisemitism does exist on the left, they insisted that only right-wing antisemitism was actually dangerous. If you’ve been following me for a while, you’ll know how frustrated I always was with this sentiment. I hope they see now that they were wrong. 

Even though I knew something ugly was brewing on the left, even I was shocked not just by the Hamas atrocities committed on October 7, but by the world’s reactions. On October 7 itself, very few people on the left unequivocally stood with the Israeli victims, no ifs, ands, or buts. They talked of “context,” decided that was the appropriate time to criticize the Israeli government, justified, or even went as far as to celebrate the heinous massacre. Now, as more indefensible information came out, they deny it. 

Supposedly progressive organizations, like the Women’s March, #MeToo, and even some chapters of Black Lives Matter either ignored the atrocities or outright supported them. On October 8, before Israel retaliated, enormous crowds in New York City marched in support of the murderers of October 7. As recently as a few weeks ago, influential progressive politicians were gaslighting us about the unabashed antisemitism present at the college encampments. 

If you haven’t noticed that genocidal hatred for Jews has become acceptable, in broad daylight, so long as it’s disguised under the costume of “pro-Palestine activism,” I don’t know if you ever will. Maybe you will after it’s already too late. Every genocidal antisemite in history had an excuse. This is no different. 

WHO IS ACTUALLY RUNNING THESE PROTESTS?

Virtually all “ceasefire,” “pro-Palestine” protests in the United States are organized by groups such as Within Our Lifetime, Students for Justice in Palestine, and Samidoun. 

Samidoun, which has ties to the internationally-recognized terrorist group the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and has an office in Tehran, is banned as a terrorist organization in Germany. Within Our Lifetime and Students for Justice in Palestine both openly support Hamas, other Islamic Republic proxies, and the October 7 massacre. 

On October 7, various SJP chapters released statements justifying and even celebrating the massacre. National Students for Justice in Palestine released a “toolkit” calling the massacre a “historic win for the Palestinian resistance.” 

SJP’s founder, Hatem Bazian, is also the co-founder of American Muslims for Palestine, an organization formed by former members of the HolyLand Foundation, KindHearts, and Islamic Association of Palestine, all of which were disbanded after its members were convicted of transferring material support to Hamas. 

Meanwhile, Within Our Lifetime is openly supportive of Hamas and other Islamic Republic proxies. WOL promotes “Palestinian resistance by any means necessary.” On October 7, WOL issued a statement, saying, “We must defend the Palestinian right to resist Zionist settler violence and support Palestinian resistance in all its forms. By any means necessary. With no exceptions and no fine print.” Abdullah Akl, a WOL organizer, has a top role at the Muslim American Society, which was founded as the American arm of the Muslim Brotherhood, though MAS denies that they continue to have an affiliation. 

Would you attend a protest hosted by the KKK? By the Nazis? If a hate group organizes a protest, can that protest actually be deemed “peaceful”?

WHAT ARE THE PROTESTORS ACTUALLY SAYING?

In between “ceasefire now” and “free Palestine” calls, the protestors aren’t exactly making their genocidal aims a secret. Among the most popular chants at “pro-Palestine” protests since October 7 are “intifada, intifada,” “there is only one solution, intifada revolution,” and “globalize the intifada.”

The intifadas were Palestinian “uprisings” that indiscriminately and primarily targeted civilians, in a series of suicide bombings, car bombings, shootings, stabbings, and even stoning. When you call for a “global intifada,” you are openly calling for violence against Jews, not just in Israel, but around the globe. The chant couldn’t be any more explicit. 

Even more horrifying, “there is only one solution, intifada revolution,” alludes to the Final Solution. Of note, at the outbreak of the 1948 war, the Palestinian Arab leadership, which had allied with the Nazis during the Holocaust, vowed, “The Arabs have taken the Final Solution to the Jewish problem. The problem will be solved only in blood and fire. The Jews will soon be driven out.”

Another popular chant is “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” which, regardless of Rashida Tlaib’s lies, is not a peaceful call for coexistence. It’s a call for the destruction of the State of Israel, which has nine million citizens, the majority of them Jews. Its Arabic counterpart is “from water to water, Palestine will be Arab,” also heard at the protests, an even more explicit call for genocide and ethnic cleansing. 

Another common chant at pro-Palestine protests is “Khaybar, khaybar ya Yahud, Jaish Muhammad, sa Yahud,” translating to “Jews, remember Khaybar, the army of Muhammad is returning,” which alludes to the surrender to Muhammad, ethnic cleansing, and extermination of the Khaybar Jews in the seventh century. The chant is also explicitly genocidal. 

We’ve spent the last decade discussing microaggressions and dog whistles, and yet, when we hear antisemites call for the murder of Jews in broad daylight, you tell us that’s not what they reallymeant. Why?

MAYBE YOU MEAN WELL

I understand that you don’t want to see Palestinians suffer. No moral person likes to see people suffer. But has it ever occurred to you that terrorist organizations are not moral? That terrorist organizations extort your empathy to further their goals? Just the other day, The Wall Street Journal uncovered secret documents that revealed that the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Yahya Sinwar, openly said that more Palestinian deaths help Hamas further its political goals. They are extorting you because you care. This is not brand new information. Hamas leaders and leaders of virtually all Palestinian political factions and terrorist organizations have made similar statements in the past. 

(And yes, you could argue that Israel didn’t have to “give them what they wanted” by retaliating. Either way, though, it’s a lose-lose situation for Israel, because no matter what, the message Hamas would be getting is “slaughtering and kidnapping people is a great way for you to get what you want,” such as releasing Palestinian mass murderers from Israeli prisons. Most countries would react to October 7 exactly as Israel did, or worse, but this is a separate discussion from this post). 

If the “globalize the Intifada,” “there is only one solution, Intifada Revolution,” “intifada, intifada,” and “long live October 7” crowds do not represent the core of the free Palestine movement, why are these the voices leading the protests? Where are the condemnations from “pro-Palestine” organizations? From “pro-Palestine” celebrities? Why do they not issue statements making it explicitly clear that these people don’t represent them? When pro-Israel protestors fired fireworks into a “pro-Palestine” crowd at UCLA, Jewish organizations issued loud and clear condemnations. 

If these sentiments didn’t represent the pro-Palestine movement, the movement would be the first to distance themselves from them. Instead, they are either silent, or worse, they openly support them. 

PLEASE SEE WHAT'S HAPPENING BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE

Every antisemitic regime in history has mobilized the masses under the guise of a “righteous cause.” The Catholic Church did it. Hitler did it. Stalin did it. Now the Islamic Republic of Iran and its proxies — Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, and the Houthis — are doing it too. And you, who has vowed to “punch Nazis,” are falling for it. 

In the nearly eight decades since the Holocaust, just about everyone has wondered: had I been alive during World War II, what would I have done? Would I have I have hid Anne Frank, as Miep Gies did, or would I have been a collaborator? Everyone, except the most rabid of Jew-haters, reaches the same conclusion: of course I would have hid the Frank family. I’m not a monster. 

The problem is that most people have been playing the wrong game, deliberating on a misguided rhetorical exercise. If it’s between the bad guy and the good guy, well, of course everyone will choose to be the good guy. But in truth, it’s notbetween the bad guy — and don’t get me wrong, the Nazis were certainly bad — and the good guy. It’s between the antisemite and the Jew.

When people pontificate over what their behavior would have been during the Holocaust, they tend to do so with one glaring oversight. Antisemitism, this deeply-engrained 2000-year-old hatred, projects whatever any given society hates the most onto the Jewish people. Nowadays, certainly in left-leaning circles, where white colonialism is considered the most egregious sin, we are powerful white oppressors and settler-colonialists. When we play bad guys versus good guys, a whole bunch of people will conclude that the bad guys are…well, the Jews. 

If you can't figure out a way to oppose the war without supporting protests led by groups that back Hamas and Hezbollah, call for a global intifada, protest in front of Holocaust museums and October 7 memorials, and wave banners that proclaim "long live October 7," your problem is not with the war. Your problem is with Jews.

Hope that helps. 

[jewishbarbies]

I’m not Jewish but I feel like I’m going insane with how brutally hateful everybody is towards Jewish people lately. A part of me feels like people were waiting for something like this to happen so they’d have a valid excuse to spew antisemitism left and right. Like, majority of what I’ve been seeing/hearing (no matter how hard I try to block it apparently) isn’t even about Israel or Palestine or the conflict itself. It’s just people spreading lies and antisemitic rhetoric freely and openly bc they’re being applauded and supported for doing it. And when you call it out for what it is, then you’re labeled islamophobic and anti-Palestine and anti-freedom and other crazy shit. Like, WHAT??? I didn’t know wanting Jewish people to also be able to live freely and comfortably made me “anti-freedom”. I’m going insane.

so many people who are going mask off right now have been antisemitic the entire time, just more quietly and in a way that only jews could really call out bc it was specific. now, it’s very much just repurposing blatantly antisemitic conspiracies and ideologies used by the right in order to legitimize their activism. leftist activism rarely if ever included jews. there were antisemitic leaders of the women’s march and pride flags with stars of david were banned from pride fests. it was always justice for everyone! unless you’re a jew, and in that case we not only don’t want you here, but we actually hate you for existing.

we’ve been calling it out for many, many years and the gaslighting has only gotten worse as the antisemitism has gotten braver and more intense. now, you can’t be a Good Leftist unless you’re also an antisemite, and it’s really pathetic it’s come to this. that’s what happens when you combine groupthink with performative activism and misinformation. ‘wrong’ opinions are social suicide, even if you’re the one in the right, and if you defend yourself you deserve to die. because to these people, jews aren’t real people facing real danger - we’re words on a screen that can be easily erased.

[daffelreign]

Macbeth commentary. Because I’m bored. And judgmental. (Pt. 4)

(Act IV: ) (We’re off to see the witches, the wonderful witches of OZ--- I mean Scotland)

Act IV (scene 1:)

All I can say about the first part of the scene is that it continually got more and more concerning as the list of ingredients went on. How exactly did they get a Jew’s liver and the finger of a strangled baby??? And why do they just randomly have it?? I feel like questioning the witches is just not a battle I’m ever going to win.

Anyways, Macbeth arrives to question the witches and boy was that the wrong call. They start showing him different aberrations that tell him contradicting things, going as far as to say ‘You’ll die when the forest gets up to kill you’ and now I’m left questioning if they’re just gaslighting him, or if the forest is about to start walking in Act 5. They also mention something we already know, of course--- Macduff will be a problem. But how Macbeth responds was not something I was prepared for at all.

We knew from the beginning that Macbeth was a ruthless warrior when it came to the battle field. Then, after killing Duncan, we realized he has that capability off of the battlefield--- but at least he felt some guilt for it. Now he’s just killing people on a whim, assuming that will fix his problem. Because killing tons of people for some self-perceived notion of an ultimate downfall has always ended well for kings.

Now, I don’t really like the fact that I understand Macbeth’s reasoning. Is there any sympathy towards him? Absolutely not. Do I think he’s making the right choice? Not even close. But, his reasoning does make sense to be. Going after Macduff’s family is a good option for what he wants to achieve, and it’s a very understandable call after what he’s already done these past few acts. I just don’t like it at all, and I know, for certain, that this will not end well. Authors who make understandable, but dislikeable villains have my utmost respect and hate.

At this point, it’s purely insanity doing the talking for Macbeth. He has spiraled past the point of return and there is no stopping him until he’s six feet under. So while it would be neat for the antagonist to show up and kill Macbeth in a grand, dramatic scene, I think it would be a whole lot more interesting if Macbeth was the one that killed himself. I’m sure there'll be a point where he just can’t take it anymore--- one could even argue that he’s already hit that point in his paranoia--- but the real kicker will be how strong his perseverance is, even after the madness takes over. Just something I’m musing about.

FInal thoughts? No change to the murder board--- actually, maybe I should add Macduff’s family, but they’re not exactly main characters. I’m still wondering at what point Lady Macbeth will get fed up with her husband's homicidal tendencies, but I think that point is coming shortly. And, finally, another chapter without mention of Fleance. I don’t think the boy’s coming back. I might have overstated when I said he would be our antagonist. I think he’s alive simply because he needs to be so that Banquo’s part of the prophecy can come true--- so plot convenience for prophecy fulfilling reasons.

Act IV (scene 2:)

I despise how quickly I got attached to Lady Macduff, only for her to die immediately after. I love her personality right off the bat, and I 100% agree with her hatred for her husband. People keep saying he’s an honorable, noble man--- one who you might think was at least a little intelligent. But no, let’s leave my wife and kids at home while I go commit treason. I’m sure that’ll end well.

I adore baby Macduff--- the little boy--- more than I can describe. I love the conversation he has with his mother, and the childish logic shining through. It’s always fun to see an exchange between a child, who thinks they have a good grasp of a situation, and an adult who humors their logic despite it being incorrect. Probably one of my favorite scenes in the whole play, if I’m being honest. It’s a shame they got murdered right after.

Act IV (scene 3:)

Not gonna lie, I was lost for the first half of scene 3. I understood what Macduff and Malcom were saying to each other, but I didn’t really understand why Malcom was being so insistent that he was the worst guy ever?? And then he suddenly turned the tables?? I thought he was gaslighting Macduff just for the heck of it, I did not catch that it was a test to make sure Macduff wasn’t there to kill him (thank you class discussions).

Aside from the initial confusion, my favorite line in the entire scene (possibly the entire play) is “Fit to govern? No, not to live.” which basically means ‘you aren’t fit to govern? No, you aren’t fit to be alive.’ The amount of exasperation in that statement alone is amazing, and the entire speech after it shows just how fed up Macduff has become. And honestly, if I was trying to convince the crowned heir to help for the greater good of an entire kingdom, and he kept trying to gaslight me into thinking he was the worst man in the world, I would get fed up, too.

Ross shows up again just in time to drop the bomb that Macduff’s family was slaughtered. That’s fun. The ‘be a man’ speech returns, this time from Malcolm. I’m starting to think that’s the theme behind the whole play--- being a man, and how that means different things to different people. Needless to say, Macduff is having a bad day.

After going through all 5 stages of grief in less than two minutes, Macduff decides that revenge is the best (and only) option. I would say he’s set up to be our antagonist, but I don’t want to get ahead of myself again. At this point, everyone is Macbeth’s antagonist--- even mother nature. Those horses didn’t eat each other for nothing. That aside, Macduff mentioned something interesting--- he can’t inflict the same pain he feels on Macbeth because Macbeth doesn’t have children. But Macduff’s children weren’t the only thing killed--- his wife was killed as well. And you know what Macbeth has? A wife.

The murder board isn’t going to change, but my predictions behind it will. I think Lady Macbeth will die, but I’m not so sure it will be by Macbeth’s hands anymore. I think it’s far more likely that she’s killed by either Macduff or Malcom during the war, and I’m rooting for Macduff.

Still no Fleance… uh… I don’t think he’s coming back. Unless they decide to drag a child into war, that is. (Wait, how are Banquo's children going to be kings if Malcom is taking over??? Oh, Malcolm is so going back on the murder board) (I think he’ll be killed at war and Fleance will end up as his successor.)

Duncan, Banquo, Lady Macbeth, Malcom (the boy who lived, come to die), Macbeth